


A Lifetime Ago

by heartsdesire456



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 05:52:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3238694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>More than a decade after the fact, a teammate is reminded of a dark period of their life. </p>
<p>But sometimes shining a light into the darkness is the best way to overcome the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Lifetime Ago

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This fic carries a strong warning. HEED IT! 
> 
> That said, everything bad mentioned is in the past and is NOT between main characters. 
> 
> See end notes for spoilery, detailed warnings!

Mack sighed, stretching his arms over his head before letting them fall back, landing on the table with a thud as he leaned forward. “Turbo, it’s late, they’re gonna get back soon. Can we please take a break?”

Fitz turned a chastising look on him. “Oh like you really need a break. It must be so terribly hard to sit there and watch me working on a delicate recalibration.”

Mack smirked, crossing his arms to rest his chin on his forearms as he looked across at Fitz. “It’s not my fault I don’t have your nimble little fingers to do such meticulous work.” He tapped his fingers on the tabletop to illustrate his point before reaching out and gently catching Fitz’s wrist, stopping his work. He pulled his hand up and flattened Fitz’s fingers out, turning his hand to flatten their palms together. “Perfect hand for agile work.”

Fitz gave him a small smile and shifted their hands so that his fingers slotted between Mack’s. “Well it’s not like you have clumsy hands,” he said, sweeping his thumb across the backs of Mack’s knuckles. “They’re large, but you’ve got a surprisingly gentle touch.”

“Is that so?” Mack asked, tugging Fitz’s hand to him and smirking when Fitz blushed slightly.

“Stop flirting with me when I’m trying to work,” Fitz chastised, squeezing his hand before pulling away to get back to work.

Mack grinned. “And who says I’m flirting?”

“Your default is flirting,” Fitz accused and Mack chuckled.

“Only for you, Turbo,” he teased with a playful smile. He started to respond further, but was interrupted when the lights in the hall flashed and the alarm flared to life only to sound the alert that there was a plane landing.

Fitz sighed in relief. “Well at least we’re not getting attacked while everybody else is gone,” he said and Mack nodded.

“That’s probably the team returning. I better go see what all they’ve broken,” he suggested and Fitz turned back to his work, allowing Mack to go without further delay.

Mack went to the hangar, hoping to have his garage on the bus back in one piece, only to walk in in time to see three of Simmons’s medics running off the plane carrying a litter with a person strapped into it. He didn’t recognize the uniform or the blonde hair that was much lighter than Bobbi’s, but he stepped aside as they rushed past and headed for the surface down the hall.

When the others walked down the ramp, Skye gave him a grim look. “They have to take her to a real hospital.” 

“Who is it?” Mack asked, looking past Skye at the others. “Anybody I know?”

Bobbi shook her head, walking down to stop beside Skye. “One of the European office’s agents. You’d have never met any of them in New York.”

Mack grimaced. “I couldn’t even tell what she looked like her face was so messed up when they carried her past. What happened?”

“She’d been held by HYDRA agents for the past week,” Bobbi explained. “We didn’t know they had her, we just went to blow the base, but we found her tied up.”

Hunter came walking past, looking visibly shaken. “I swear I wish I’d known before I shot those bastards. I wouldn’t have been so bloody kind as to kill them quickly,” he muttered, going over to the doorway only to stop and turn back and walk back to the group. He walked right up to Bobbi and – to Mack’s shock – threw his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. “Sorry, sorry, I just have to.” His voice was muffled by Bobbi’s jacket before he pulled away and turned to leave again, letting his hand trail down her wrist as he walked off.

Mack raised an eyebrow at Bobbi, who was smiling at Hunter’s back. He crossed his arms and cleared his throat, startling her until she looked back. She gave him an innocent face. “What?” Mack tilted his head and she rolled her eyes. “God, it’s not that serious, Mack.” His mouth flattened into a ‘suuuure’ face and she grumbled. “Fine, whatever, yes it’s going to end badly again, I know that, but whatever, okay?” She narrowed her eyes as she walked past. “Like you have room to talk, chicken!”

Skye raised an eyebrow at Bobbi’s retreating form then turned back to Mack. “How long have you two been friends again?” she asked suspiciously and Mack smirked.

“Probably as long as you’ve been alive, Kid,” he teased and she made a face at him.

“Oh whatever,” she said rolling her eyes.

Mack chuckled, but trailed off, looking up as Coulson and May came walking down the ramp, faces serious. “Hey, what’s the word on the blonde girl?” he asked curiously. “Is she gonna make it?”

Coulson’s mouth tightened, but he nodded. “She’s being released from SHIELD fully and will be admitted into the care of a local hospital under an alias until we can contact someone that may know how to get her home. Even if she’s awake soon, it’s unlikely she’ll be up to talking to anybody that she isn’t comfortable with.”

“Is that SOP with victims held captive by the enemy?” Mack asked curiously. “Seems like the ranks would thin out pretty fast. I mean I get it, I’d probably lose it if I was tortured, too, but surely y’all are trained for dealing with capture, right?”

Skye winced and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll leave this one to them,” she said with sympathy before walking away. Mack looked back to May, who rolled her eyes when Coulson flinched.

“She wasn’t a field agent, so she wasn’t trained for torture. Also she wasn’t just held captive, she was tortured for information and then raped,” May said plainly. Mack’s blood ran cold and his chest tightened painfully. “Coulson decided it’s best if we just let her go home rather than try and make her talk about it.”

Mack nodded, swallowing around the churning in his stomach. “Good.” He barely noticed the slightly curious look they both gave him before he turned. He needed to get back to his room and he needed to get there fast.

~

_His face smarted from where he’d been slapped, but he just turned his head as he startled awake, clenching his eyes shut. He knew better than to complain, even if he’d been violently slapped awake. “Kyle?” he asked groggily._

_“Who the fuck else do you think it is?” The question came with a knee digging into his ribs. He looked up at Kyle, who was already up and dressed. “Time to get up, lazy ass.” Kyle ground his knee harder into his side and he grimaced, struggling to sit up._

_“Hard to get up if you’re on me,” he grumbled, shoving at Kyle’s knee so he could sit up, only to have his breath choked off when Kyle grabbed him by the throat and tilted his head up. He watched silently, acutely aware of how much he needed to breath. Kyle dragged him closer, nails scratching at the sides of his neck._

_“Don’t talk back to me, you fuckin’ know better,” he said in a low, deadly serious tone. He nodded as best he could and whimpered when, instead of releasing his throat, Kyle leaned in and kissed him roughly, forcing his lips apart before sinking his teeth into his lip when he yanked back, forcing a whimper of pain out of him as he cut his lip. Kyle pulled away and smiled to himself at the blood welling up on his lip before finally letting go. He leaned away, sucking in huge breaths, just in case Kyle choked him again, but he seemed to be done. Kyle looked down at him and shook his head. “Get up and make sure you shave. I ain’t into that shit,” he said, touching the stubble on his chin before shoving his face away._

_As Kyle turned to leave the room, he just shook his head, sighing heavily. “Why are you such a disappointment, Alphie?”_

Mack jerked awake, panting as he sat up so fast he nearly fell out of bed. He caught himself reaching up to check his lip for blood and grimaced. He looked around, eyes going to the alarm clock beside his bunk and saw it was just before five. He looked across the room and saw Hunter was sprawled out in his bed still, absolutely dead to the world. Mack leaned forward, crossing his arms over the tops of his knees, forehead pressed into his forearm. 

He hadn’t had a nightmare about it in so long. He rubbed at his face, still feeling the phantom string of a slap that happened over a decade ago. He knew what brought on the nightmare, but he hated it all the same. It had been twelve years. He had stopped having nightmares a decade ago. He was _fine_ now. The last thing he needed was the reminder of a part of his life that was long behind him.

Mack decided to get up and go ahead and start the day. He feared that if he went back to sleep, he might have another dream, and the last thing he wanted was for one fluke nightmare to become something else.

~

It wasn’t one fluke nightmare.

Mack discovered quickly enough that the nightmares were back, and worst of all, they were all more vivid than any nightmare should be. After waking Hunter up one night with his tossing and turning, he found himself worried about sleeping when Hunter was on base and in their room because he didn’t want to keep waking him up. It wasn’t fair to wake up someone who spent all day working on keeping the world going with the others.

Because of the sleep he wasn’t getting, it wasn’t shocking really that his dreams got worse. Sleep deprivation and obsessing over his nightmares only made them happen more.

_He huddled against the counter, still trying to keep picking up the pieces of the plate he’d dropped while Kyle stormed around, kicking him every chance he got on the way past, never slowing his shouting._

_“You’re so fucking useless! You can’t even wash the damn dishes without breaking shit!” Kyle grabbed him by the elbow and yanked him up, twisting his arm painfully. “Look me in the goddamn eyes!” he demanded, shoving him until he was standing tall. Kyle looked up into his eyes, shoving him hard enough his head hit the cabinet door behind him. “You’re lucky I put up with you, you know that? You’ll never amount to anything. Nobody else would have you, you know that, Alphie? Because you’re WORTHLESS!”_

_He shook his head, fighting the tears that were burning his eyes. “I’m sorry, Kyle, I’ll be better-“_

_“You damn well will, or I’ll put you out on your ass where you belong, Alphie, you big, clumsy oaf-“_

A loud crash startled Mack awake and he flailed to stand and grab the table to balance himself from falling as he slid off the stool, only to send a beaker flying so it shattered just before his stool hit the ground with a loud thud. He looked around wildly, panicking as he heard footsteps coming up behind him. He dropped to his knees instinctively, scrambling to use his bare palms to sweep the glass up. “I’m sorry, Kyle, I’ll be better, I’ll do better, I’m sorry-“

“Mack?” 

Mack stopped immediately as he was jerked into the present by a familiar voice. He looked down at the glass and realized it was an empty lab beaker. The stool was a lab stool. He looked up and Fitz was standing in front of him, watching him with worry in his features. Mack sat back on his heels, looking down only to realize he had two pieces of glass in his palm from his careless sweeping. He groaned, leaning his head against the table beside him. “C’mon, Mackenzie, get a grip on yourself,” he muttered.

“Mack, are you alright?” Fitz asked tentatively. Mack opened his eyes and Fitz walked closer, squatting down beside him to grab his hand. Mack let him pull his wrist up and examine his palm. “Shit, what did you do this for?” Fitz asked, looking up to meet his eyes. He looked at Mack searchingly, biting his bottom lip. “C’mon, let’s go get the first aid kit.” He looked over at the techs hovering. “You, clear this up,” he commanded as he let go of Mack’s hand so he could stand up and follow him over to the huge first aid kit they kept under one of the tables. 

Mack sat down and let Fitz come stand in front of him, pulling out the tweezers to get the glass out of his hand. There were two sizeable chunks right in the heel of his palm. He winced as Fitz pulled them out and then pouted dramatically when Fitz came back with alcohol swabs. “That’s gonna burn,” he said and Fitz gave him a flat look.

“Don’t be a baby,” he murmured, though he was gentle as he cleaned the skin. He grabbed a bandage and placed it, then looked up at Mack as he smoothed the edges a bit more than necessary with his thumbs, gently rubbing Mack’s hand. “What was all this?” he asked.

Mack could see the worry in Fitz’s eyes. “It’s just- just bad dreams,” he dismissed.

Fitz shook his head. “Mack, you’re not one for bad dreams. Now me? I have nightmares all the time. Have since I woke up from my coma,” he said bluntly. “But you didn’t used to do this.” He watched him closely. “It’s like the past two weeks you don’t sleep. What’s going on?”

“Fitz, it’s nothing you need to worry about-“

“Yeah, bollocks,” Fitz argued. He gave Mack a determined look. “You have been right there pestering me to not sit and wallow since the day you met me. You’ve made me get up off my arse and talk about what’s bothering me and kept me going when I wanted to stop.” Mack smiled in spite of himself at Fitz’s words. Fitz put his other hand on Mack’s, curling Mack’s hand to hold both of his. “Mack, you’re clearly not okay,” he said gently. “You’ve either stopped sleeping at night, or you’ve got something wrong to make you fall asleep all over the base otherwise. If you’re sick, tell someone. We can help you. And if it’s something else… well you can talk to me,” he said softly. He smiled sheepishly. “You know you can trust me with anything.”

“I know, Turbo,” Mack said hoarsely as he looked down at Fitz’s hands holding his. “I do trust you, you know?” He leaned forward, resting his forehead against Fitz’s shoulder. He was so tired and he didn’t want to talk about it, not even with Fitz. He just wanted to sleep without being afraid of another nightmare of a memory. He wanted to go back to never having those dreams.

Fitz moved one hand to curl around the back of Mack’s neck, his warm hand soothing the tension in the muscles along the base of Mack’s skull. “Mack… who is Kyle?” he asked reluctantly.

Mack grimaced, shoulders dropping. The realization that he’d said his name and Fitz had heard was something he hadn’t prepared for. “What did I say?” Mack asked faintly, throat dry.

Fitz rubbed at his neck soothingly. “You- you said-“ Fitz stopped and Mack could hear him swallowing from where his forehead rested on his shoulder. “You said that you were sorry and that you’d be better and you were talking to a person called Kyle. Who is he?”

Mack shifted, sitting up again. He looked at Fitz’s worried eyes, level with his own as he sat and Fitz stood, and he closed his eyes and took a breath before opening them. “When I was twenty, I started dating this guy named Kyle.” He smiled ruefully. “I’m bisexual, if you didn’t notice.”

Fitz gave him a small smile. “Yeah, well, the flirting with everybody gave me some idea,” he joked half-heartedly.

Mack smiled and continued. “Well, I wasn’t the most confident person back then.” He looked down at his lap, biting his lip. “I’m a lot different now. I kinda found out how good I was at fixing things and building stuff and really made my own way in life, but back then, I was always really shy because I didn’t want anybody to find out I liked men, not just women. It was ninety-nine, things were a lot different than they are now, you know?” he said, glancing up.

Fitz shrugged. “Not really, I was eleven then,” he said and Mack groaned.

“God you’re young,” he said, shaking his head. His smile slipped as he watched Fitz. “I just didn’t wanna make any trouble. But I met this guy and it wasn’t like I was the type to go out to a gay bar or anything. I was too scared to really go places I could meet men, so I thought I was so lucky I met him. I had a cute boyfriend and I didn’t have to worry about my family finding out or anybody from college catching me at a gay bar.” He shook his head. “I didn’t wanna admit my ‘perfect luck’ wasn’t that perfect until it was too far and he’d convinced me I was worthless and was lucky to have him no matter what.”

Fitz frowned. “What do you mean ‘too far’?” he asked, fear in his eyes.

Mack nodded with a sad smile. “Kyle abused me.” Fitz’s eyes widened and his mouth opened some.

“Wha- what do you mean _abused_ you?” he blurted out.

Fear crawled into Mack’s mind and his chest tightened with the prospect of Fitz not believing him. It wouldn’t be the first time, but it was _Fitz_. Mack licked his lips, fighting the lump of fear growing in his throat. “He convinced me I was a failure. That was wasn’t good for anything. And I didn’t even realize it until months after I finally got out of the relationship that he’d made me believe the worst shit because it happened gradually. We were together for nearly three years because it started out little things, but I believed him when he told me that I deserved it when he hit me.” Fitz’s hand on his tightened and he watched the color draining from Fitz’s cheeks. “He just shoved me around some at first. And we’d been together a year before he actually hit me hard enough to leave a mark.” Mack shook his head. “I tried to tell somebody. I found one of those hotline numbers for domestic violence, but the minute I started talking they told me it was disgusting that I’d prank call them and take up the time of someone who could be helping a ‘real victim’,” he said bitterly. “And then I tried telling this student counsellor at Student Health but he just laughed in my face and said ‘men like you don’t get abused’ and ‘you’re big enough to defend yourself’.” Mack took a deep breath, fighting the urge to stop talking. “And that just cemented it for me that- that I deserved it. I didn’t think about defending myself. I was scared of Kyle. I was bigger than him, yeah, but he made me think I deserved it. I didn’t think about defending myself because I thought it was my own fault he hurt me.”

“Jesus, Mack,” Fitz whispered, and Mack looked down.

“It’s been twelve years since I finally got away from that relationship. I stopped having nightmares a few years later. But recently something reminded me and I just-“ He shook his head. “I should be better than this. It was so long ago, I know it’s stupid to get all messed up again. I’m not weak like I was then. I know what I’m worth now, and I have no fear of who I am, and I’m definitely not scared of anybody ever doing it to me again, because I wouldn’t fall for it like I am now-“

“Mack,” Fitz interrupted, putting a hand on his face gently. “You don’t have to convince me you’re not weak. Ever,” he stressed firmly. “And having nightmares about something horrible that happened in your past is _not_ weak. You don’t have to feel worthless or be afraid all over again in order to have nightmares.” He shook his head. “You don’t need a ‘reason’ to be having nightmares again. It’s just something that happens.” Mack almost wanted to tell him that he _did_ have a reason, but he really didn’t want to say more than he already had. He was still half-afraid Fitz was going to laugh at him, no matter how much he trusted him. Fitz gave him a sad look. “Is that why you don’t sleep? You’re scared of dreams?”

Mack shrugged. “That and I don’t wanna keep waking Hunter up. Dude’s off saving the world at least once a week it seems like. Doesn’t need to not get any sleep cause his roommate’s got issues.”

“Psh, Hunter can live with it,” Fitz argued. “Besides, how often does he sleep there anyways? I’m pretty sure he spends way more time with Bobbi than he doesn’t,” he said, and Mack chuckled.

“I guess so.” He shook his head, looking over at where the techs had cleaned up the glass while he and Fitz talked in their own little corner. “I’m sorry I broke your beaker.”

Fitz scoffed. “Yes, because I don’t do that often enough,” he said and Mack managed a grin. Fitz lit up some when he saw Mack genuinely smile. He looked up from his mouth to his eyes and gave a big smile in return. “Look, if you think you having a bad dream or two is bad, you should see why I don’t have to room with anybody,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “My God, I wake up terrified many nights.”

Mack’s face fell. “Hey, that’s not okay. Why are you smiling about that?”

“Cause it’s healthy,” Fitz said simply. “Nightmares are horrible, but I didn’t dream for three weeks after I woke up. They worried my brain may not work that way again. Sleep without any dreams isn’t unheard of, but it’s not good for you. Dreams are your brains way of working things out without distracting you from everyday life. They’re not bad as they could be, and at least I know it’s a sign that my brain is still healing.” He shrugged. “Hopefully it’ll go away in a while. My brain’s still getting better.”

Mack nodded. “Yeah, it is. And even if it doesn’t get any better, there’s nothing wrong with you right now,” he said, smoothing down the front of Fitz’s shirt absently. “You’re fine like you are.”

Fitz gave him a small smile. “You’re such a charmer,” he teased and Mack smirked.

“Only for you, Turbo,” he said and Fitz rolled his eyes. Mack bit his lip, resting his hand on Fitz’s hip. “Hey Fitz? Thank you.”

Fitz frowned. “What for?” he asked, looking confused.

Mack tugged him closer, parting his knees so he could pull Fitz until he was only a few inches away. Fitz blushed some, looking down at the way his chest was almost touching Mack’s. When he looked up Mack couldn’t help the wave of satisfaction over the pink in Fitz’s cheeks and ears. He was more sure than ever that Fitz really was the most incredible person he’d ever met. “For not thinking less of me,” he murmured, holding his gaze. “I knew I could trust you.”

Fitz gave him a playfully stern look. “Damn right you can trust me. And anybody that thinks less of you for having had something horrible happen to you can answer to me. I’ve got more than enough experience on that subject, so I can tell them what to do with their opinions about you,” he promised and Mack grinned, shaking his head fondly.

“C’mere,” he muttered, pulling Fitz into a hug. Fitz didn’t seem to be much of a hugger, but Mack was, and he didn’t think Fitz would complain as he wrapped his arms around Fitz’s middle and tucked his chin over his shoulder. Fitz, much to his relief, just slid his arms around Mack’s shoulders and allowed Mack to hug him. 

Mack held on a little longer than necessary just because Fitz in his arms felt so right it physically hurt to have to let him go. He knew one day they would have to own up to what was going on between them, but he didn’t want that day to be about his issues with his past.

~

Mack had managed to not think about the details of what happened to finally make him leave Kyle for over eight years and he had hoped that, in spite of being reminded every day for weeks, he’d go on not remembering the details of that night. 

He wasn’t that lucky.

_Kyle didn’t say anything as he went from kissing him to leaning over him and tying something around his wrist. “Hey,” he said in confusion, looking over at his wrist. “Hey, what are you doing?” he asked, worry filling him as he pulled at his wrist only to find he couldn’t. His wrist was tied to the bedpost. “Kyle- what the hell?” he asked, snatching his other wrist away, only to have Kyle grab it back and smack him across the face for his trouble._

_He gasped in pain, jaw throbbing as he rolled his head away. “Don’t be difficult,” Kyle said, and he blinked away the pain as he turned to see his other hand tied to the post. It wasn’t the first time Kyle had hit him in bed, but he’d never tried to tie him up before._

_“Kyle, this isn’t okay. I don’t like this,” he said, looking over as Kyle climbed off the bed and came back with a sock._

_“Will you shut up already?” Kyle grumbled. “C’mon, baby,” he said, crawling back on top of him. “It’s kinky, right?”_

_He hesitated but nodded, biting his lip. “I- I guess.” When Kyle leaned down to kiss him, he accepted the kiss, trying to relax again. It wasn’t like people didn’t do things like that all the time. He just was taken by surprise. Kyle touching him helped him relax some. Kyle might hurt him sometimes, but he wasn’t all bad._

_“Good, now I’m gonna put this in your mouth,” Kyle said, holding up the sock._

_His eyes turned to the sock and he frowned. “What? No, what if you’re hurting me? I couldn’t tell you.”_

_Kyle’s smirk made his stomach tighten. “Exactly,” he said, moving to put the sock in his mouth._

_“No, Kyle-“ He turned his head away, tugging at his left wrist, since it felt loose, squirming away from Kyle. He tried to shift him with his legs a few times, but Kyle jammed a knee into his thigh, making him gasp in pain. “Hey! Stop it-“ Kyle grabbed him by the throat, and he let out a strangled sound, yanking hard enough that his left wrist came free. He reached for Kyle’s hand on his throat, nails scrabbling at the back of his wrist, only for Kyle to curse and let go long enough to punch him – hard – in the jaw._

_“STOP MOVING!” Kyle snarled, and he caught Kyle’s wrist, trying to knock him off. He managed to shove him off the bed, and he immediately rolled over and started to untie his other wrist, which was twisted at a painful angle as he tried to get it undone. Before he could, however, Kyle’s weight landed on his back, making him cry out as it twisted his wrist even further._

_“Kyle! Stop! Get off of me!” he shouted, trying to rock and shake him off, only to have Kyle grab his left hand and twist it behind his back._

_Kyle leaned down and bit his neck, making him gasp in pain. “I fucking said stop moving,” he growled, and he felt Kyle thrust against the back of his thigh, making him realize exactly what Kyle planned to do._

_“Kyle- Kyle please,” he choked out, voice tight with pain and fear. “I’m sorry. Just- just please let me go.”_

_Kyle twisted his left wrist, making him cry out, and laughed. “You’re mine, Alphie. You don’t get a say in how I want it.”_

_He shuddered, shaking his head. “It doesn’t- doesn’t work that way! If you even think about it, I swear I’ll tell someone. I’ll call the cops, you have no idea. You- you’re hurting me-“_

_“I hurt you all the fucking time, you know by now that I can hurt you all I want,” he growled in his ear. “Nobody would listen. You know they won’t. Remember last year? You told them and nobody believed you. Nobody would believe you now either. Because you’re worthless.” Kyle laughed darkly in his ear. “I can do whatever I want to. I can hit you, I can fuck you, I could kill you if I wanted.” That last one made him freeze, terrified at the idea. “Ahhhh not so quick to threaten to tell now are you?” Kyle asked._

_He closed his eyes, terrified suddenly. “I’m- I’m sorry. Kyle, please-“_

_“I’ve had enough of this,” Kyle said, and the next second his head was being dragged backwards as something went tight around his neck._

_He tried to scream, he tried to cry out, but he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t make a sound. He couldn’t support himself to take the pressure off. His left arm was twisted behind him, his right was tied in such a way that his hand was going numb in front of him, and Kyle was using the sock he’d meant to stuff in his mouth to strangle him, head pulled back at a sharp angle that left him making choked, strangled sounds but nothing louder._

_When the edges of his vision was being overtaken by black spots, Kyle’s voice in his ear was the only thing he could hear over his pulse rushing in his ears. “Can’t stop me now, can you, Alphie?”_

_He choked out strangled sounds, trying his best to scream, to say Kyle’s name, to say anything. Anything to make it stop._

“Mack!” Mack startled awake, panting and clutching at his throat, only to scramble out of the bed and fall on his knees, gasping for breath. “Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with you, Mate?” He looked up, pulse steadying when he saw Hunter getting out of bed to come help him up. Hunter helped him up and sat him on his bed. “Seriously,” he said, yawning. “You’re all about loud dreams suddenly. Why do you keep crying out ‘Kyle’? Your boyfriend’s name is Leopold, you dunce.”

Mack shuddered. “It sure as hell isn’t that kind of dream, man, don’t even joke.”

Hunter settled on his bed across from Mack. “Then who is Kyle?” he asked. “Do you have a brother that died in a horrible childhood accident? Mate who fell off a cliff?” he rambled and Mack groaned. Hunter smiled. “Look, you know me, Mack. We’ve been friends for years. Whatever it is, you can trust me.”

Mack hesitated, watching him for a while. It was true. He’d known Hunter ever since Bobbi and Hunter were newlyweds since he and Bobbi became friends about ten years before at the New York office. He did trust him. Mack figured maybe he owed Hunter an explanation for all the waking him up and, after all, if he was able to tell Fitz and if he could tell Hunter, maybe he could finally put it all behind him again. It had been weeks and it was getting very old. “Alright,” he said, leaning his elbows on his knees. “Look, Man, what I’m gonna say… this is shit nobody at SHIELD knows about besides Fitz.”

Hunter leaned in. “I am intrigued now,” he said. “What kind of thing would a ten year SHIELD agent tell only his boyfriend?”

“Fitz isn’t my boyfriend,” Mack pointed out and Hunter scoffed.

“And I’m not back together with Bobbi,” he said and Mack rolled his eyes, but nodded.

“Fair enough.” He bit his lip, trying to think of where to start. “It’s not easy to talk about-“

“Who Kyle is?” Hunter asked, and Mack decided that was the easiest way to start.

Mack took a breath. “Kyle was my first boyfriend when I was twenty years old. We were together for three years.”

Hunter paled. “Shit, did he die? Fuck, I’m sorry-“

“No,” Mack said, derailing Hunter before Hunter’s rambling threw him off the surge of determination he was riding in order to talk about it. “Kyle... well he wasn’t nice.” Mack grimaced. “He was horrible. He- he was the worst boyfriend imaginable really.” Mack tried to find a way to explain, but it wasn’t as easy to just come out with it as it had been with Fitz. “You remember that agent y’all brought back a few weeks back?”

Hunter nodded, looking confused. “The bird that got tortured?” he asked. “What, was your boyfriend so shitty you’d have rather been tortured by Hydra?” he asked, and Mack gave him an annoyed look.

“Will you stop interrupting with your theories so I can just tell you that my boyfriend abused me?” he snapped in frustration, only to freeze when he realized what he just said.

Hunter blinked. “Are you saying that-“

Mack cut him off, trying to get it all out before Hunter could interject. “It’s because May said she’d been raped and that’s why I left Kyle finally, because after three years of him abusing me, one night he raped me, and this was a long, long time ago, and I’d done long since healed from that and got on with my life, but I haven’t ever had any real life instance of hearing about somebody getting raped since then and it just threw me back into nightmares of him beating me and raping me and that’s why I keep having nightmares.” He was breathing sharply, sort of horrified at himself for spilling that he’d been raped. He’d planned to make something up about how the girl being tortured reminded him of his boyfriend beating him and tell him what he told Fitz. He didn’t plan on letting it out that he’d been raped.

He looked up at Hunter, hoping he hadn’t overwhelmed him with that confession, only to see Hunter _smiling_. Mack’s blood ran cold as Hunter let out a snort and started _laughing_. “Alright, you get an A for effort, you had me really going there,” he chuckled, pointing at Mack. “Pretty unfunny joke, though. I mean, that’s not funny, that poor woman was tortured and raped, you know?” He continued to chuckle as he stood up and went about getting dressed. “Delivery was great though. Ha, the idea that _you_ could get attacked like that almost makes it slightly amusing apart from how horrible that is to joke about.”

Mack shook his head slowly. “Wha- Hunter, I’m serious,” he said in disbelief. He never thought _Hunter_ wouldn’t believe him.

“Oh whatever,” Hunter said, rolling his eyes as he pulled on his jeans. “If you don’t wanna tell me whatever’s giving you loud dreams, that’s fine, but that joke wasn’t even funny. Great delivery, shitty punchline.”

Mack couldn’t even find the words to speak. He watched for a moment as Hunter continued to get dressed before he stood up and simply left. He couldn’t even bear to stop to get dressed, he just walked out of the room in sweatpants with no shirt or shoes. He didn’t want to be there and listen to Hunter’s laughter anymore.

~

Fitz woke up to the sound of someone knocking at his door and he immediately climbed out of bed. He stumbled over and undid the lock, opening the door with a sleepy squint through one eye. “What’s the-“ He stopped, blinked, then opened both eyes when he saw Mack. He was almost distracted by the broad, barely clothed torso before him, but he saw Mack’s face and knew something was wrong. “Mack?” he asked worriedly, reaching out to catch his wrist.

Mack’s eyes were too shiny, and his lips were in a tight line. His jaw was clenched, and he looked like he was on the verge of tears. He looked more upset than he had even when telling about his abusive ex, and Fitz had never wanted to see him more upset than then. “Mack, are you alright?” Fitz asked softly, sliding his fingers into Mack’s hand, finally getting a reaction from him when Mack curled his hand around Fitz’s and clung to him. “C’mere,” Fitz said, pulling him into the room. He shut the door behind him and then led Mack over to his bed. He sat him down and then sat beside him, legs crossed as he faced Mack, watching his face in profile closely. “Mack, you’re scaring me.”

Mack opened his mouth and closed it again, shaking his head. “Fitz,” he said in a hoarse tone that immediately had Fitz tightening the hold he had on Mack’s hand and pulling it into his lap.

“What happened?”

“It’s the same thing that happened before,” he said weakly. He looked up at Fitz, and Fitz was horrified to see a haunted, pained look in his eyes. “When I told the counselor that- that Kyle hurt me, he laughed cause he thought I was joking.”

Fitz gaped. “Who thought you were joking here?” he asked in surprise.

Mack swallowed, looking away. “I had another nightmare. About- about the reason I left Kyle finally. Hunter woke me up and I was so shaken that I- I let it spill and told him everything. About Kyle beating me and-“ He bowed his head. “And that the reason I left Kyle after three years of abuse is because he raped me.”

Fitz’s heart stopped for a split second and he felt like he would be sick. “Oh God,” he choked out, and Mack looked up just in time for Fitz to lean up onto his knees and throw his arms around his shoulders, hugging him. “Oh God, Mack,” Fitz managed, hugging him tight. He pressed his face into Mack’s neck, fighting the hitch in his breath as his heart broke for Mack. “I’m so sorry you had to relive that in a nightmare. Christ,” he babbled. He pulled back trying to sniff back the tears that were already trying to spill down his cheeks only to stop suddenly. His broken heart for Mack having to relive a horrible thing that happened was replaced slowly by the realization of what Mack said. “Hunter _laughed_ when you told him what that bastard did to you?” he asked darkly.

Mack nodded, smiling sadly. “I thought- I guess I trusted Hunter enough to tell him I’d been abused and it turns out he didn’t believe I’d been raped. Just like when it happened.” He shook his head. “I told somebody what he did to me after I left him, but nobody did anything about it. They all said I was making it up because I’m too big to be raped. Never mind that he choked me nearly unconscious when he did it so even if I hadn’t been afraid of him, I would’ve had trouble fighting back.”

Fitz’s anger swelled up in him at the idea of anybody laughing at Mack telling them he’d been hurt so badly, but he didn’t want to seem outwardly angry to Mack. Mack needed him to be supportive right now. Not angry. He leaned against Mack’s shoulder and hugged him. “I’m sorry, Mack. That your roommate is a wanker and that you had that dream.”

Mack leaned into his hug. “I’m sorry to dump all this on you, I just needed somebody to believe me, Turbo.”

Fitz bit back the angry remark he wanted to make and pressed his cheek against Mack’s shoulder. “Of course I believe you. I always will,” he promised.

~

After Mack left his room to go get ready for the day, in spite of Fitz suggesting he take the day off, Fitz got dressed and headed immediately to go find Hunter. He held it in in front of Mack, but without him around, Fitz’s temper was rising again.

When he found him in the kitchen, he was glad nobody else was there. “You _bastard_!” Fitz snapped as he walked into the room, startling Hunter into dropping his banana on the counter. “How dare you?!” he demanded.

“Fitz, what the hell are you on about?” Hunter asked, looking confused, only to actually startle when Fitz slammed a hand on the counter between them.

“WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU GET OFF LAUGHING AT MACK’S NIGHTMARES?!” he shouted at him, not bothering to keep his volume down since nobody else was around that early.

Hunter frowned. “What? You mean that really shitty joke?” he asked, and Fitz started to shout at him again but Skye came in, yawning.

“What’s with the yelling? It’s too early for that. Most people are still in their rooms,” she said, shuffling in her pajamas over to the coffee maker. “Coffee before waking up is usually my thing,” she said, looking at Fitz curiously. “Since when do you get coffee?”

“I’m not here for the coffee, I’m here to shout at this bastard,” he said, pointing a thumb at Hunter. “Now if you could go away so I can continue-“

“What’s he yelling at you for?” she asked Hunter, 

Fitz gave him a warning glare but he must not have understood cause he snorted. “I have no idea what he’s on about,” Hunter said. “He’s pissed cause I laughed at his boyfriend having bad dreams, but it’s not that. I laughed cause he almost got me,” he said, grinning in amusement. “He sat me down and got all serious and then told me this really not funny joke about how he had nightmares cause some bloke raped him ages ago,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I told him it was a good effort, but jokes about that aren’t funny.”

Skye rolled her eyes. “That’s so not cool. That girl a few weeks ago actually got raped, it’s nothing to joke about.”

Hunter nodded. “I know, right?” He took a bite of his banana. “I don’t get what Fitz’s on about-“

“BECAUSE YOU THINK IT’S A BLOODY JOKE!” Fitz shouted. He knew his face had to be positively burning red he felt so angry. “Fuck you, Hunter, you piece of _shit_ ,” he spat, and Skye nearly dropped her coffee she was clearly so started by his language and his rage. “What the fuck do you think he’d try and make a joke about that for? Do you really not think him having nightmares for weeks before deciding to tell you _because he trusted you_ about the bastard that hurt him is reason enough to believe him?!”

Skye’s eyes widened. “Wait, you don’t mean he’s serious-“

“You stay the fuck out of it,” Fitz snapped at her, making her jump some. “You shouldn’t even be here, because Mack didn’t make the choice to tell you this shit, but Hunter is such a piece of shit that he just went and started spouting utter _bullshit_ in front of you-“

“Oi, will you stop calling me a piece of shit already?” Hunter interrupted, looking less amused. “You can calm down, Fitz.”

Fitz really saw red there. “Oh I can calm down?! You fuckin’ _laughed_ at Mack admitting something to you he’s LITERALLY only ever told me before!” He held out his arms. “Or well, no, something he’s told me and the counselor that _did what you did and laughed_ before right after it happened!” He pointed at him. “HOW can you think he’s joking about that?! Does Mack strike you as the type to make a _joke_ about being _raped_?!” he spat angrily. “You are the biggest piece of shit I’ve ever fucking met, you insensitive bastard!”

“Whoa, whoa, what the hell is going on here?!” Fitz turned around, chest heaving with anger ready to let off on whoever decided to interrupt him, only to see it was May and Coulson with Simmons trailing after them. May crossed her arms, looking at Fitz’s red, tear-streaked face full of rage and Hunter’s pinched, annoyed expression, as well as Skye’s confused shock. “Fitz, what the hell?” May asked, looking surprised at him.

Fitz sniffled, wiping at the tears of anger on his face. “It’s not something concerning anybody else-“

“Yeah, no,” Coulson said, looking at him sternly. “I like to know why a fistfight is about to break out in my kitchen.”

Fitz clenched his jaw, setting his shoulders. “It is none of your concern, Sir,” he said steadily. 

“I don’t know what the hell’s going on,” Hunter said simply. “Fitz is pissed I laughed at some horrible joke Mack told when we woke up-“

Fitz whirled around. “DO NOT FUCKING REPEAT IT IN FRONT OF-“

“I’m really going to be to my limit with you in a minute, Fitz, I do not want to do that,” Hunter said in a warning tone. “It was a joke. If it hadn’t been one, he would’ve said something when I laughed and corrected me. I know my roommate-“

“Obviously not if you didn’t notice him _leaving without getting dressed to get away from you_ ,” Fitz hissed through his teeth, nails digging into the counter. “Now shut up, right now! If you say another word-“

“Oh come off it, you won’t do anything,” Hunter scoffed.

Skye looked at Fitz with a dawning look of horror. “Shit, it wasn’t a joke,” she realized, looking at Hunter then back at Fitz. “Uh, Hunter, I’d shut up if I were you,” she said, giving him a pained look.

Hunter frowned. “What?” He looked at Fitz. “You’re not serious, right now. There is no way that Mack got-“

“SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!” Fitz shouted, starting around the counter only to have Simmons cry ‘Fitz, no!’ and have May grab him around the shoulders, dragging him back. “Don’t you dare tell someone what you were told in confidence, you horrible excuse for a human being.”

Hunter paled. “Shit. It wasn’t a joke,” he seemed to finally understand. He looked at Skye, who looked nearly ill. “Mate… fuck, I’m sorry,” he said, looking at Fitz. He looked at the others. “ _Shit_ I nearly-“ He put a hand over his mouth. “Oh God, I’m officially the worst friend ever.”

Fitz let out a choked, angry laugh. “No shit, you stupid fucker.”

Hunter winced. “I deserve that.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t punch you in the fucking throat,” Fitz said darkly and Hunter raised an eyebrow.

“That’s a bit much, isn’t it? Really? You’d punch _me_?” he asked and Fitz narrowed his eyes.

May finally released him and gave Hunter a shrug. “He’s killed people before and I’ve never seen him that angry before,” she said, and Hunter frowned. She faced Fitz. “Now what the hell is going on here?”

Fitz shook his head. “Not anything that concerns-“

“Fitz,” Simmons interrupted, looking at him helplessly. “What’s going on? You never say things like that or god forbid threaten to _hit_ someone!”

Skye cleared her throat, shaking her head. She looked at the three of them with sadness in her eyes. “It’s not theirs to tell. I shouldn’t know. I walked in at the wrong time and I-“ She cleared her throat, looking up at the ceiling. “It wasn’t Hunter’s to tell,” she said on an exhale.

Coulson narrowed his eyes. “I’m the director of SHIELD. If there is anything to cause tensions that high between my agents, I need to know.”

“Need to know what?” Bobbi asked as she walked in behind them. “Me and Mack wanna know stuff!” She said, and Fitz made a helpless sound as Mack walked in behind Bobbi, only to stop when she walked over to hop onto the counter beside Hunter and steal his coffee. “Why’s everybody in here?” she asked.

Mack was avoiding Hunter’s gaze and Fitz’s heart ached to see it. Hunter seemed to notice and he sighed heavily. “Mack, mate, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

Mack’s head snapped up and he looked around the crowded room, then back at Hunter with horror in his eyes. “Dude, if you went and said it in front of everybody-“

“No, just me,” Skye said weakly. “I’m sorry I heard. I shouldn’t know something you don’t want people to know,” she said sincerely.

Fitz ran a hand over his face. “It’s my fault, too,” he said, and Mack gave him a hurt look. He bit his lip. “I just- I was so angry at him I confronted him and Skye walked in and he just told her the ‘not very funny joke’ you told him,” he said bitterly. He shook his head. “I stopped him from saying anything more, but I’m sorry I confronted him at all. I just-“ He rubbed at his eyes. “I was so _angry_ that he hurt you-“ He stopped, hands still over his eyes. “Annnnd now Coulson’s really going to want to know what the hell we’re on about. I’m so sorry, Mack.”

Mack deflated, shaking his head. “It’s not your fault, Turbo,” he said softly. He glanced out into the hall and saw some of the techs walking past and glanced back at Coulson. “Three people know already, so I may as well just come clean so you don’t think it’s something I’m lying about that pertains to SHIELD. But not here, okay?”

Coulson nodded. “My office, with you three as well, please.”

~

Mack took a deep breath and finished. “And after Hunter’s reaction I was so upset I went to Fitz and told him what happened. He knew about the abuse but not the rape.”

Coulson nodded without any expression. “Fitz, you confronted Hunter?”

Fitz looked ashamed of himself, and Mack hated that he felt so guilty, but he nodded. “Yes, Sir. I just got so angry that anybody could laugh at Mack for that,” he said weakly. “I wanted to know why. I wanted- I wanted to know why Hunter would do that to him.” He rolled his eyes. “I guess you could say I’ve got a problem with someone you trusted turning out to have not been worth trusting, and the idea it happened to the person I- erm, the person who has been my friend the most lately really got to me.”

Coulson gave him an amused look. “We all know what you two are, Fitz, trust me, nobody’s judging you for dating,” he said and Mack raised an eyebrow at Coulson but didn’t say anything. Coulson smiled sadly. “Fitz, trust me when I say it makes perfect sense that a friend betraying someone who trusted them would strike such a chord in you, especially when the person being betrayed is your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my-“

“And Mack,” Coulson continued, looking at him. “I’m sorry you had to tell me something you didn’t want to talk about. But I needed to know what was going on.”

Mack nodded. “I understand.” He sighed, rubbing at his eyes. “It’s not something that had bothered me at all for so long. I think telling Fitz and telling Hunter is probably a good sign, since I pretty much just healed over time by getting out of that mindset of worthlessness, I never talked to anybody about it. People I told about the abuse did like Hunter and just assumed I couldn’t ever be hurt that way-“

“And I’m so, so sorry,” Hunter said one more. “Mate, I swear, I feel like such a tit.”

“As you should,” Fitz muttered and Hunter gave him a look. “What? I’m not apologizing for threatening to kick your arse,” Fitz said bluntly, making Mack grin.

Coulson and Skye both rolled their eyes at Fitz, but Mack reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Glad to know you always got my back, Fitz,” he said and Fitz blushed some, which was always an adorable thing in Mack’s book.

Coulson stood up. “Agent Mackenzie, if you’d like to request counselling at some point, I can arrange that for you,” he said with a gentle smile. “Trust me, when you live as long as I have, most of which has been in SHIELD, you learn that bad things happen to everybody. Nobody is weak because they’re a victim, and nobody is too strong to be a victim. You’re no less for something a horrible person did to you. Besides,” he said with a small shrug. “We’re spies. We all know how manipulation works. Nobody’s too big and strong to be manipulated into believing what we want them to. Same goes for horrible people doing bad things to good people through manipulation. The idea that someone can’t be a victim because they don’t look like one is just stupidity, because anybody can be twisted, especially by someone they care about.” He shook his head. “You’re no less of an agent for being a victim.”

Mack nodded with a weak smile. “I know that these days, Sir. Just never expected all this to come out so it kinda threw me for the loop.”

Skye cleared her throat. “Sooo we don’t have to tell anybody else, right?” she asked, Coulson. “This doesn’t seem like stuff the team needs to know. I’m thinking this can be one of those things that none of us ever speak about again except for Mack when he wants to tell people.”

Coulson nodded. “Exactly. What meeting? We never had a meeting. I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, and Skye laughed at him.

“This is why you’re my favorite,” she said as she hopped up and headed to the door.

Mack watched as Hunter left as well, and he turned to watch Fitz leave only to be interrupted when he got up to follow him. “And Mack.” He turned back and Coulson nodded to the door. “You and Fitz can take the day off if you need to. You’ve both had a pretty rough morning.”

Mack nodded. “Thank you, Sir. I’ll let him know.”

~

Mack found Fitz in the lab, getting the day’s work out, and walked over and simply grabbed the clipboard out of his hands and laid it aside. “Day off, me and you both, Coulson’s orders,” he said, smiling at Fitz

Fitz bit his lip, giving him a guilty look. “Are you sure you want me to? I just made things worse for you-“

“Oh stop that, Turbo,” Mack said, shaking his head. “You were just defending me.” He gently grabbed his hand and backed up, tugging Fitz into following him. “C’mon, lounge will be empty most of the day. We can watch a movie, take a nap. All that good stuff.”

Fitz smiled hopefully as he fell into step with Mack, looking curiously as Mack just shifted the hold on his hand rather than let go of it. “Erm, alright. If you’re sure?”

“Course I am,” Mack said simply. “Besides,” he said, grinning slyly as they turned onto the hall where the lounge was. “Seems like everybody thinks we’re dating anyways.”

Fitz chuckled, ducking his head. “I noticed that, too,” he said, picking at the hem of his cardigan as he avoided Mack’s gaze, letting him lead him along by the hand. When they got to the lounge, Mack let go of Fitz’s hand and walked over to the TV to pop in a DVD. When he came back, he sat down beside Fitz and didn’t hesitate to sling an arm around his shoulders. Fitz raised an eyebrow at him but Mack just stared ahead, even though Fitz saw the smile he was trying to hide. “Mack, stop that,” Fitz said with a dramatic groan. “It’s not attractive.”

Mack broke his mask and snorted, looking down at him. “Lies, you always find me attractive,” he teased and Fitz poked him in the side.

“Smug isn’t a good look on anybody,” he argued, leaning his head on Mack’s shoulder. He glanced up and bit his bottom lip when he saw the openly affectionate look Mack was giving him. He rolled his eyes. “Oh, go on, then. Just get on with it.”

“No idea what you’re talking about,” Mack said and Fitz narrowed his eyes playfully. 

“You think you’re funny.”

“I’m hilarious,” Mack said warmly. He shook his head, smiling. “Alright, so hey, Turbo, you wanna get coffee together sometime?” he asked playfully. “I mean if that’s not too forward-“

“Shut up and kiss me, you wimp,” Fitz said with a laugh, unable to hide his amusement. Mack grinned and leaned in without hesitation, pressing his lips to Fitz’s in a simple, short kiss before pulling back.

“There, happy?” he asked, and Fitz smirked.

Fitz tilted his chin up and pressed his lips to Mack’s again. “Maybe a bit more and I will be,” he mumbled and Mack chuckled low in his throat as he settled into the couch, happy to trade sweet, slow kisses with Fitz and ignore the movie he’d put on for however long Fitz wanted to.

Mack pressed his lips to Fitz’s forehead after a few minutes and closed his eyes. “You know how much I care about you, don’t you, Fitz?” he murmured and Fitz hummed in response. He looked up at Mack with those beautiful blue eyes Mack always thought he could easily get lost in and nodded.

“I love you, too, you dunce,” he said with a sweet little smile. “You’re not that cryptic,” he joked.

Mack rolled his eyes. “And you’re definitely not a romantic,” he teased and Fitz laughed.

“If you wanted romance, you fell for the wrong man, Buddy. I barely can manage regular human interaction on the best of days.” Fitz trailed off some, and turned a slightly worried look at Mack. “You know how bad my bad days get, Mack. Are- are you sure-“

“Turbo, don’t even,” Mack murmured, leaning in to kiss him sweetly. “I love you how you are, Fitz. Bad days and all.” He pecked his lips. “Promise.”

Fitz couldn’t help the bright smile that crossed his face. “And I love you just how you are. Nightmares and all,” he said, making Mack nod slowly.

“That’s why you’re the best person I know.”

Fitz smirked. “Of course I am, everybody else around here can be real tight arses. I’m the fun one,” he said and Mack snorted, shaking his head as he turned to face the TV, Fitz tucking in under his arm to curl along his side.

Mack didn’t say any more as they started to actually watch the film he put in, but that was because he knew he didn’t need to. Fitz always understood him, the same way he managed to understand Fitz. He knew Fitz was brilliant and brave, just like everybody else, but he also had an idea nobody else realized how beautiful and funny and fiercely loyal Fitz was the way he did. As he looked down at Fitz, he couldn’t help but smile because Fitz was his, and no matter how much longer he had nightmares, or how much trouble his memories gave him, Fitz wasn’t going to back out. He’d stick with Mack no matter what.

Because that’s who Fitz was, and to Mack, that’s what made him perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> There is graphic depiction of domestic abuse and there is a depiction of the abuse BEFORE the rape that takes place, but it's kind of a 'fade to black' there. There is no descriptive sexual assault. But the abuse that leads up to the rape is descriptive.


End file.
